The pros of Yoga in terms of acne relief are especially marked in the intense relaxation response that this exercise triggers. Since acne is exacerbated by even the most minimal amount of stress, an exercise that can relax you while toning your muscles is the perfect alternative for an acne-prone individual.
This relaxation response has wonderful effects on the body, as it allows it to slow down and focus within its function. In addition, this provides a break for the mind, allowing it to unwind and experience the pleasant feeling of muscles and internal functions relaxing into their habitual positions.
Acne has the marked effect of causing emotional pain in many of its sufferers. It can lower self-esteem and cause social withdrawal that only worsens stress levels and the acne itself.
Because of this, yoga's relaxation effects on the mind, as well as the improvement that it reflects on our bodies helps increase self-acceptance and reduce mood swings, while lowering incidences of anxiety, depression, anti-social behavior and hostility.
Yoga also improves brain functions and cognition, easing movement and flexibility, awakening reflexes, and reducing our reaction time. Since yoga is a strong cognition enhancer, it is used as an anti-aging exercise to slow down the effects of aging and maintain efficient cognitive functions and motor skills.
Memory has shown to be improved with regular yoga exercise, as learning has been proved to be facilitated with its practice.
Even though it can be hard to believe that such a simple workout that anyone can do could have such amazing effects, don't be skeptical. It's true. Jump on and try some yoga today - there is nothing better to treat the whole body.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Are You Doing These Things To Stay Clear?
Go Natural: Avoid processed foods at all costs. Canned, packaged, dried, frozen…all these foods have been cooked for hours to maximize flavors at the lowest possible cost. That means that they are packed with empty calories, little nutrients, and zero enzymes to metabolize, absorb, and assimilate any vitamins or minerals they could contain. Processed foods are also packed with preservatives, dyes, sodium, and flavor enhancers.
All these foreign substances put extra strain on your body, providing it with no nourishment and taking away from its healing time and energy. If you must select processed foods, select those that have short lists of ingredients and are labeled as "all natural." These are the least likely to cause damage to your body.
Avoid Inflammatory Foods: There are certain foods that will only worsen your acne and overall health. Drinks like coffee or anything containing caffeine, alcohol, cream, milk, eggs, and other dairy products are strenuous on the body and require extra effort to metabolize. Fried foods, spicy foods, animal fats, hydrogenated oils, wheat, and soft drinks are also best to stay away from.
Maintain a Consistent Skin Care Regimen: We've all gone through the nightmare of searching for the right product for our skin type. But in the hype of discovering the miracle cream, we forget to give our skin time to adjust to the effects of the new product. By all means, try everything you must before settling for a skin care regimen. Just allow the testing to be done over an extended period of time to truly evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment.
Your skin is very sensitive, especially if you are suffering from acne. Remember to be consistent with your routine, and as gentle as you can on your skin.
All these foreign substances put extra strain on your body, providing it with no nourishment and taking away from its healing time and energy. If you must select processed foods, select those that have short lists of ingredients and are labeled as "all natural." These are the least likely to cause damage to your body.
Avoid Inflammatory Foods: There are certain foods that will only worsen your acne and overall health. Drinks like coffee or anything containing caffeine, alcohol, cream, milk, eggs, and other dairy products are strenuous on the body and require extra effort to metabolize. Fried foods, spicy foods, animal fats, hydrogenated oils, wheat, and soft drinks are also best to stay away from.
Maintain a Consistent Skin Care Regimen: We've all gone through the nightmare of searching for the right product for our skin type. But in the hype of discovering the miracle cream, we forget to give our skin time to adjust to the effects of the new product. By all means, try everything you must before settling for a skin care regimen. Just allow the testing to be done over an extended period of time to truly evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment.
Your skin is very sensitive, especially if you are suffering from acne. Remember to be consistent with your routine, and as gentle as you can on your skin.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
A Recap of What We've Learned
Eat Healthy: select easy to digest foods that are high in nutrients. Stick to natural choices like fruits and vegetables, grains, and whole cereals.
Drink Plenty of Water: water not only keeps your skin elastic and glowing, it is a means of transport for nutrients to be absorbed and assimilated into the body. Drink at least two liters of water per day.
Maintain a consistent skin care regimen: once you find a regimen that is good for your skin, stick to it and observe its effects. Make sure to keep a routine so that maintaining consistency is not an issue.
Try one treatment at a time: acne can be troubling and frustrating when we can't seem to get rid of it with anything. But sometimes, we are too impatient to wait for results. Remember that acne mainly occurs due to a prolonged unhealthy lifestyle, so allow a good amount of time for those effects to be undone. Give treatments time to work before switching up, and don't get discouraged about peeling- it is a temporary, and clear sign that the medication is working.
Exercise: whether you do yoga or play racquetball, maintaining an active lifestyle and working out your body helps in tissue repair and resiliency. It is also a powerful therapy to clear the mind of daily troubles and stressors, and improves sleep, mood, and stamina.
Find Balance: don't let your acne get you down. Finding time to unwind and hang out with friends is essential to our well-being and overall health. Withdrawing yourself at home can seem like a
more simple, less stressful choice. But take into account that behaviors turn into habits, and over time habits become hard to break.
Drink Plenty of Water: water not only keeps your skin elastic and glowing, it is a means of transport for nutrients to be absorbed and assimilated into the body. Drink at least two liters of water per day.
Maintain a consistent skin care regimen: once you find a regimen that is good for your skin, stick to it and observe its effects. Make sure to keep a routine so that maintaining consistency is not an issue.
Try one treatment at a time: acne can be troubling and frustrating when we can't seem to get rid of it with anything. But sometimes, we are too impatient to wait for results. Remember that acne mainly occurs due to a prolonged unhealthy lifestyle, so allow a good amount of time for those effects to be undone. Give treatments time to work before switching up, and don't get discouraged about peeling- it is a temporary, and clear sign that the medication is working.
Exercise: whether you do yoga or play racquetball, maintaining an active lifestyle and working out your body helps in tissue repair and resiliency. It is also a powerful therapy to clear the mind of daily troubles and stressors, and improves sleep, mood, and stamina.
Find Balance: don't let your acne get you down. Finding time to unwind and hang out with friends is essential to our well-being and overall health. Withdrawing yourself at home can seem like a
more simple, less stressful choice. But take into account that behaviors turn into habits, and over time habits become hard to break.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Dealing with Scars
Scars are a prominent issue when it comes to acne, and they can pose an even bigger threat to our self-esteem than the acne itself. Nevertheless, many acne scars generally go away almost entirely within a year of being acne-free. In many cases, where scars are persistent or if we are trying to accelerate the skin regeneration process, there are several natural alternatives to laser and painful cosmetic treatments that we can resort to.
1) Reduce exfoliation: scars result from a lack of tissue, over-pigmentation, and ruptured follicles that arise from acne. If you are still breaking out, minimize exfoliation as much as possible. Even though exfoliation with abrasives such as sponges and micro particles help the skin shed dead skin-cell accumulation, it also causes scarring by rupturing follicles, and aids in the cross-contamination of acne bacteria in different areas of the skin.
Exfoliation can also remove new skin cells on scar tissue, slowing down its regeneration and in many cases, worsening the scar altogether. Allow you skin cells to renew themselves and use natural exfoliants such as vinegar solutions, lemon juice, or alpha hydroxy acids. These are non-abrasive and gentle on the skin.
2) Don't pick: as is the case with exfoliation, picking on acne lesions ruptures follicles, collapsing its contents (bacteria and pus) into surrounding skin. Their rupture can result in the worsening of the acne lesion, inflammation, and infection. When you use your fingers to pick, not only are you breaking the follicle walls, you are incorporating bacteria and dirt that worsens the conditions of the lesion. This is a terrible habit that causes scarring to become worse, and sometimes, permanent.
3) Use regenerative topicals: natural topicals such as Aloe Vera, olive oil, and Retin-A help the skin regenerate more rapidly, reducing acne scars and strengthening tissues.
4) Laser and Cosmetic Procedures: as a last resort, you can experiment with cosmetic scar reducing methods such as laser and chemical peels. Always consult a doctor first, as they can enlighten you on what is best for you particular case.
1) Reduce exfoliation: scars result from a lack of tissue, over-pigmentation, and ruptured follicles that arise from acne. If you are still breaking out, minimize exfoliation as much as possible. Even though exfoliation with abrasives such as sponges and micro particles help the skin shed dead skin-cell accumulation, it also causes scarring by rupturing follicles, and aids in the cross-contamination of acne bacteria in different areas of the skin.
Exfoliation can also remove new skin cells on scar tissue, slowing down its regeneration and in many cases, worsening the scar altogether. Allow you skin cells to renew themselves and use natural exfoliants such as vinegar solutions, lemon juice, or alpha hydroxy acids. These are non-abrasive and gentle on the skin.
2) Don't pick: as is the case with exfoliation, picking on acne lesions ruptures follicles, collapsing its contents (bacteria and pus) into surrounding skin. Their rupture can result in the worsening of the acne lesion, inflammation, and infection. When you use your fingers to pick, not only are you breaking the follicle walls, you are incorporating bacteria and dirt that worsens the conditions of the lesion. This is a terrible habit that causes scarring to become worse, and sometimes, permanent.
3) Use regenerative topicals: natural topicals such as Aloe Vera, olive oil, and Retin-A help the skin regenerate more rapidly, reducing acne scars and strengthening tissues.
4) Laser and Cosmetic Procedures: as a last resort, you can experiment with cosmetic scar reducing methods such as laser and chemical peels. Always consult a doctor first, as they can enlighten you on what is best for you particular case.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Finding a Good Skin Care Regimen
Everyone has different schedules. But fitting a good skin care regimen into your daily routine must be done. Whether you wake up early or are working the graveyard shift, you ought to find a few minutes to take proper care of your skin.
Step 1: Brush
Teeth FirstIt's important to do this first, so that once we tackle our face, it doesn't come in contact with any toothpaste residue or mouth bacteria.
Step 2: Wash Hands
Removing oil, bacteria, and other residues is important to prevent cross-contamination.
Step 3: Wash face
Wet your face with warm water and proceed to wash your face. Use a non-soap, non-comedogenic, oil-free gentle cleanser. Lather your face very gently. Don't rub the face wash into your skin as you would be washing dishes. Your skin is very sensitive, especially if you are suffering from acne, and it is prone to breakages and follicle ruptures. Rupturing a follicle causes a small lesion to become bigger and inflamed, making it more likely for scars to persist.
Step 4: Pat Dry
Again, don't rub your skin dry. Simply pat it to remove excess water, and allow it to air dry for 5-10 minutes before applying any topical. Have some cereal, check your schedule, make a phone
call - just go about your day.
Step 5: Wash Hands
Step 6: Apply Medication
After 5-10 minutes, you can proceed to apply the acne medication of your choice (or your doctor's). The most common acne medication used is Benzoyl Peroxide, but there are other options such as salicylic acid.
Make sure to be extremely gentle while applying the medication, covering all the area of your face (even if you aren't breaking out there). Don't rub the cream in; simply smear it to cover every inch of your face. You should notice your skin looks "wet" after application. Wash your hands and allow the cream to absorb for 10 minutes.
Step 7: Moisturize
Apply moisturizer as directed in step six. Allow to absorb for at least five minutes before applying make up.
Do this regimen twice a day, ideally morning and night. Remember: over-washing your face worsens acne, so don't fall prey to this bad habit.
Step 1: Brush
Teeth FirstIt's important to do this first, so that once we tackle our face, it doesn't come in contact with any toothpaste residue or mouth bacteria.
Step 2: Wash Hands
Removing oil, bacteria, and other residues is important to prevent cross-contamination.
Step 3: Wash face
Wet your face with warm water and proceed to wash your face. Use a non-soap, non-comedogenic, oil-free gentle cleanser. Lather your face very gently. Don't rub the face wash into your skin as you would be washing dishes. Your skin is very sensitive, especially if you are suffering from acne, and it is prone to breakages and follicle ruptures. Rupturing a follicle causes a small lesion to become bigger and inflamed, making it more likely for scars to persist.
Step 4: Pat Dry
Again, don't rub your skin dry. Simply pat it to remove excess water, and allow it to air dry for 5-10 minutes before applying any topical. Have some cereal, check your schedule, make a phone
call - just go about your day.
Step 5: Wash Hands
Step 6: Apply Medication
After 5-10 minutes, you can proceed to apply the acne medication of your choice (or your doctor's). The most common acne medication used is Benzoyl Peroxide, but there are other options such as salicylic acid.
Make sure to be extremely gentle while applying the medication, covering all the area of your face (even if you aren't breaking out there). Don't rub the cream in; simply smear it to cover every inch of your face. You should notice your skin looks "wet" after application. Wash your hands and allow the cream to absorb for 10 minutes.
Step 7: Moisturize
Apply moisturizer as directed in step six. Allow to absorb for at least five minutes before applying make up.
Do this regimen twice a day, ideally morning and night. Remember: over-washing your face worsens acne, so don't fall prey to this bad habit.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Help Your Skin Clear with These Tips
Sugar Down: sugar is probably the worst food to put in our bodies. It is like a plague, as it is readily found in most processed products, and even in natural foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, and even meat. Sugar, especially in high amounts, causes our bodies to experience hormonal imbalances that compromise immunity.
As is the case with moderate to severe acne, a sugar overload can not only give rise to acne, it prevents it from healing, as white blood cells are debilitated and unable to effectively fight acne causing bacteria. Sugar also feeds unwanted yeasts, such as Candida, that grow in our colons.
As a result, our digestive system is compromised, inhibiting the effectiveness of nutrient absorption, worsening our immune response, and ultimately resulting in poor waste management. When the body can't rid itself of waste due an infection due yeast like Candida, that waste isn't metabolized correctly in our systems. As a result, symptoms arise such as oil over-production (acne), hair loss, excessive sweating, wax build, and fluid over-production.
Drink Enough Water: Drink at least two liters of water a day to flush out toxins and help the body cleanse itself.
Do the Dairy Test: try eliminating all dairy products from your diet for 3-4 weeks. You could be experiencing acne that occurs as an allergic response to lactose-based foods, as is the case with dairy products. If you notice that upon introducing this change your skin clears up, it's a clear sign that you are not able to process lactose as you should.
Load Up on Yogurt: if you are not allergic to dairy products, take advantage of soured products such as yogurt, sour cream, and certain cheeses, which contain probiotic bacteria that enhances the body's ability to rid itself of waste.
As is the case with moderate to severe acne, a sugar overload can not only give rise to acne, it prevents it from healing, as white blood cells are debilitated and unable to effectively fight acne causing bacteria. Sugar also feeds unwanted yeasts, such as Candida, that grow in our colons.
As a result, our digestive system is compromised, inhibiting the effectiveness of nutrient absorption, worsening our immune response, and ultimately resulting in poor waste management. When the body can't rid itself of waste due an infection due yeast like Candida, that waste isn't metabolized correctly in our systems. As a result, symptoms arise such as oil over-production (acne), hair loss, excessive sweating, wax build, and fluid over-production.
Drink Enough Water: Drink at least two liters of water a day to flush out toxins and help the body cleanse itself.
Do the Dairy Test: try eliminating all dairy products from your diet for 3-4 weeks. You could be experiencing acne that occurs as an allergic response to lactose-based foods, as is the case with dairy products. If you notice that upon introducing this change your skin clears up, it's a clear sign that you are not able to process lactose as you should.
Load Up on Yogurt: if you are not allergic to dairy products, take advantage of soured products such as yogurt, sour cream, and certain cheeses, which contain probiotic bacteria that enhances the body's ability to rid itself of waste.
Maintain a Balanced Diet
Even though dermatologists have long said that diet is not related to acne, today we have evidence proving that what we eat not only affects our overall health, it can also affect our skin.
Considering that skin is the largest organ in our bodies, it would be silly to assume that what we put in our bodies will not reflect on our skin.
The skin makes up for 16 percent of our body weight. It is responsible not only for the protection of our organs and tissues, but it helps the body rid itself of waste, working alongside the kidneys, lungs, and colon. The skin reacts to our body's conditions and it reflects mainly on two things: (1) whether we have the necessary nutrients to sustain healthy living functions, and (2) how healthy our living functions are.
It is known that foods like sugars, carbohydrates, processed foods, preservatives, heavy diary products, and junk food all have adverse effects on our bodies. They not only promote mucus formations in the colon due to their yeast feeding qualities, they interfere with the proper cleansing of our systems, making us strongly retain toxins and waste.
One of the worst foods for acne is sugar. It is a devilish food, as it is present in almost everything that we eat, making it very hard to avoid.
Sugar and related sugars (such as carbohydrates) impact our body by altering the glucose levels in our blood. This detonates an insulin response, which makes our blood levels to drastically drop. When we eat more sugar than we are supposed to in a day, the insulin response is triggered constantly, thus affecting other hormones in the process. This generates an important hormonal imbalance that leads to the overproduction of oil and sebum in skin oil glands. The oil plugs our pores trapping bacteria within it, and the follicle results in a skin lesion.
If we maintain a diet that is filled with foods that cause this chain reaction, skin lesions would be more frequent flare-ups known as mild, moderate or severe acne.
Considering that skin is the largest organ in our bodies, it would be silly to assume that what we put in our bodies will not reflect on our skin.
The skin makes up for 16 percent of our body weight. It is responsible not only for the protection of our organs and tissues, but it helps the body rid itself of waste, working alongside the kidneys, lungs, and colon. The skin reacts to our body's conditions and it reflects mainly on two things: (1) whether we have the necessary nutrients to sustain healthy living functions, and (2) how healthy our living functions are.
It is known that foods like sugars, carbohydrates, processed foods, preservatives, heavy diary products, and junk food all have adverse effects on our bodies. They not only promote mucus formations in the colon due to their yeast feeding qualities, they interfere with the proper cleansing of our systems, making us strongly retain toxins and waste.
One of the worst foods for acne is sugar. It is a devilish food, as it is present in almost everything that we eat, making it very hard to avoid.
Sugar and related sugars (such as carbohydrates) impact our body by altering the glucose levels in our blood. This detonates an insulin response, which makes our blood levels to drastically drop. When we eat more sugar than we are supposed to in a day, the insulin response is triggered constantly, thus affecting other hormones in the process. This generates an important hormonal imbalance that leads to the overproduction of oil and sebum in skin oil glands. The oil plugs our pores trapping bacteria within it, and the follicle results in a skin lesion.
If we maintain a diet that is filled with foods that cause this chain reaction, skin lesions would be more frequent flare-ups known as mild, moderate or severe acne.
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